Alison Musgrove is a blur of purple tie-dye and blond hair as she whips into Tread BR, her latest fitness obsession.

Musgrove is a body in motion. She always has been.

“I ran cross country and track in high school and at Southeastern (Louisiana University) and I played softball at Parkview Baptist,” says Musgrove. “And I played soccer.”

Her parents encouraged her physical activity and had a strict rule of no soft drinks in the house.

She and husband Chuck enforce the same rule in their South Baton Rouge home, and Musgrove says she gets sons Charles, 6, and Mackie, 4, in on her exercise sessions when she can.

A typical weekday for the 35-year-old Musgrove includes at least an hour of hardcore exercise. Some days she’s at Tread BR for interval training that includes steep treadmill climbs or strength building on the club’s high-tech TRX Suspension Trainers, the same kind endorsed by Drew Brees.

“It’s hard and it’s fast,” says Musgrove. “An hour goes by really fast.”

Or she might be at Yogalates, where she’s been a regular for about 10 years.

“It’s a 100-degree room and you do stretches and core work,” says Musgrove. “There’s no equipment. It’s all about using your body. And that’s really good for a runner. I get real tight hips.”

She credits the program for helping “maintain my balance, strength and flexibility.”

And then there’s the days she runs, which she calls her first exercise love.

“Running is spiritual for me. It clears my head,” says Musgrove, who has run countless 5Ks, 10Ks and half-marathons, and one full marathon. That was two years ago in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in New Orleans.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “When you hit the 18th or 19th mile, it’s all between the ears. My boys were holding up a sign that said, ‘My momma runs like a Kenyan.’ That helped me get through it.”

She finished in 3 hours, 27 minutes, good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

“I decided to take my kids to Disney World instead,” she says with a smile.

But marathons are still in her future, she says, adding she wants to run The Louisiana Marathon in January and ticking off New York, Chicago and Boston as races she’d like to try.

For now, the LSU Lakes are a favorite path, and Musgrove says she sometimes brings her kids along, with Charles racing along on his bike as she pushes Mackie in a stroller.

And, of course, there’s weekend soccer games where it’s three guys, Chuck and the two boys, against her.

“They know momma doesn’t like to lose,” Musgrove says of her competitive spirit, adding, “It is so important for us to set an example for our children so they will desire to be strong and healthy, too.”

Her biggest competition, she says, is herself. And she strives to best past times and performances, and is always looking for new experiences.

“I change it up a lot because I get bored easily,” she says.

But it’s more about what she gets out of exercising.

“Now, it’s way more than what I look like,” she says. “Now I’m just so thankful I can sprint down the soccer field with my boys and just be active and involved with them.

“And after exercising, I am restored. I am a better woman, wife, mother, daughter and friend. If I am grouchy, my husband will say, ‘Baby, I think you may need to go for a run,’” she says with a laugh. “When I’m having a bad day, a run almost always makes me feel better.”

Tips

• Set small goals.
• Sign up for races or classes with a friend.
• Make exercise a priority, like eating or sleeping.
• Substitute water for soft drinks.